The present invention relates to adjustable supports for aircraft interior equipment, in particular supports for aircraft seating, tables and the like.
A need exists in many aircraft interiors for seats and tables to translate and/or rotate for passenger comfort. Many aircraft floor space plans require several degrees of motion to allow a bulky seat or coffee table to be moved in the tight confines of smaller business aircraft. Seats must often be movable toward or away from tables, desks and other seats, all without using up valuable floor space. Military aircraft often have a need to access multiple stations from a single seat. In each of these cases, however, a chosen locked position must securely support and protect the seat occupant for normal use, turbulence loads and hard landing loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,572 (hereinafter “the '572 patent”) discloses an adjustable chair having a chair post that is movable within a large aperture in the mounting frame. This arrangement allows the chair to be rotated and translated across the top of the chair mounting frame. The chair is fixed in a desired position by a friction brake that engages the underside of the chair mounting frame. A disadvantage of the chair disclosed in the '572 patent is the substantial volume and floor space occupied by the relatively bulky chair mounting frame. Additionally, the friction lock does not provide a positive locking feature to endure heavy side loads.